Should I ship an Emotional game?
Emotional
Of 2,088 developers who shipped an Emotional game in the last 2 years: 3 in 10 made under est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 4 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 20 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 3,755 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.3k, ×4.9 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $460k, ×987 the market median. Revenue is down 10% on the market; 3,755 games are announced against 1,246 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $449 (exactly $449) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.3k (exactly $2,338) |
| Top 25% | $21k (exactly $21,048) |
| Top 5% | $469k (exactly $468,744) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 2,088 |
| Released games | 6,131 |
| Announced | 3,755 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| Typical price | $6.99 |
momentum: how a niche's revenue percentiles and developer count moved between two equal, adjacent periods, divided by the market's own move. See method., 12 months: revenue down 10% on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 16%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Emotional
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 90% positive over 329,505 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $450. 7 in 10 of the 1,198 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 3,755 games are announced against 1,246 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 per shipper.
All pairs with Emotional
No pair with Emotional has 25 games yet.
Comparable games
Detroit: Become Human 2020 · $272M 
It Takes Two 2021 · $262M 
God of War 2022 · $195M 
Persona 5 Royal 2022 · $165M 
Ori and the Will of the Wisps 2020 · $122M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Detroit: Become Human | older | $39.99 | 226,411 96% | 6.8M | $272M (exactly $271,625,277) | Quantic Dream |
| | It Takes Two | older | $39.99 | 218,492 95% | 6.6M | $262M (exactly $262,124,852) | Hazelight Studios |
| | God of War | older | $49.99 | 129,712 95% | 3.9M | $195M (exactly $194,529,086) | Santa Monica Studio, Jetpack Interactive |
| | Persona 5 Royal | older | $59.99 | 91,682 96% | 2.8M | $165M (exactly $165,000,095) | ATLUS |
| | Ori and the Will of the Wisps | older | $29.99 | 136,019 96% | 4.1M | $122M (exactly $122,376,294) | Moon Studios GmbH |
 | The Last of Us™ Part I | older | $59.99 | 65,259 85% | 2.0M | $117M (exactly $117,446,622) | Naughty Dog LLC, Iron Galaxy Studios |
 | DELTARUNE | $24.99 | 124,894 98% | 3.7M | $94M (exactly $93,633,032) | tobyfox | |
 | Persona 3 Reload | older | $59.99 | 43,497 95% | 1.3M | $78M (exactly $78,281,551) | ATLUS |
 | A Plague Tale: Innocence | older | $39.99 | 63,166 93% | 1.9M | $76M (exactly $75,780,250) | Asobo Studio |
 | A Way Out | older | $29.99 | 78,174 87% | 2.3M | $70M (exactly $70,333,148) | Hazelight Studios |
 | God of War Ragnarök | $59.99 | 32,502 89% | 975k | $58M (exactly $58,493,849) | Santa Monica Studio, Jetpack Interactive | |
 | The Last of Us™ Part II Remastered | $49.99 | 34,252 90% | 1.0M | $51M (exactly $51,367,724) | Naughty Dog LLC, Nixxes Software, Iron… (Naughty Dog LLC, Nixxes Software, Iron Galaxy Studios) | |
 | FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH | $49.99 | 25,363 75% | 761k | $38M (exactly $38,036,891) | Square Enix | |
 | FINAL FANTASY XVI | $49.99 | 24,065 78% | 722k | $36M (exactly $36,090,280) | Square Enix | |
 | Digimon Story Time Stranger | $69.99 | 15,845 89% | 475k | $33M (exactly $33,269,746) | Media.Vision Inc. | |
 | DEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACH | $69.99 | 15,434 94% | 463k | $32M (exactly $32,406,770) | KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS, Nixxes Software | |
 | Mafia: The Old Country | $49.99 | 20,909 71% | 627k | $31M (exactly $31,357,227) | Hangar 13 | |
 | INAZUMA ELEVEN: Victory Road | $69.99 | 11,180 88% | 335k | $23M (exactly $23,474,646) | LEVEL5 Inc. | |
 | Sultan's Game | $24.99 | 25,061 93% | 752k | $19M (exactly $18,788,232) | Double Cross |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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